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Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Texting & health care delivery around the world #mHS12

Today is the 3rd day of the mHealth Summit and today we will hear some sessions around global health. The morning started with Nafis Sadik from the United Nations Foundation speaking about the use of mobile technology in developing countries. In general, more women than men use mobile technology and this presents a huge opportunity to improve care in women's health. Women's health care is significantly lacking in many developing countries. Hence, there are huge problems related to pregnancy, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, and abuse. There are also issues surrounding gender equality, family responsibilities, caring for children, and other social matters. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) include child and maternal health, HIV, gender equality, and poverty/hunger.

Ariel Pablos-Méndez from USAID spoke about the health disparities around the world that are being addressed using mobile technology. Neonatal complications account for 40-50% of deaths in children in many Asian countries. He gave the following points:

mHealth can empower patients and providers with valuable health information.

mHealth can also help health care providers apply the latest evidence-based clinical practices that will lead to optimal health outcomes.

mobile money could replace cash and improve the speed/efficiency of health payments. mobile money could also reduce some of the corruption that exists in many countries.

Here at the mHealth Summit, I'm hearing about a variety of texting programs that are designed to improve patient education, diagnostic services, and disease management.

Some notable tweets today include:

mHealth Alliance ‏@mHealthAlliance
We must address the issues surrounding gender inequality, using the power of #mHealth - Nafis Sadik @unfoundation #MHS12